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Raven turned to watch Eden depart, his stare mocking as it swept over her fair curls, narrow waist, and the long, graceful stride the fullness of her skirts didn’t hide. “Have you taken to seducing comely virgins?” he asked as he turned back to face his uncle.
“That I prefer a beautiful woman’s company to my own shouldn’t surprise you,” Alex responded readily, but he was puzzled by the sudden aloofness of Eden’s manner when she had been so delightfully open, and he could not dismiss her from his mind. “I know I said I’d like to leave early, but I’ve decided to stay awhile longer.”
“Why? You can sleep at home in your own bed far more comfortably than you can in here.”
Alex moved toward the door. He was almost as tall as his nephew, and his build was also lean. In finely tailored evening clothes his every gesture displayed the elegance to which he had been born while as usual Raven’s motions showed only the tension of his mood. “I’ve no intention of sleeping. It’s been a long while since I felt like dancing so just go on ahead and send the carriage back for me if you can’t wait.”
“You want to dance?” Raven gasped incredulously. “But aren’t you afraid that—”
Alex raised his hand in a demand for silence. “My heart isn’t that weak, Raven. A dance or two won’t kill me. Of course, if it does, I’m afraid the Carlisles will be so angry with me for ruining their ball they’ll refuse to attend my funeral.” Amused by that macabre thought, he began to laugh to himself. “Please convey my apology should it be necessary.”
Raven quickly caught up to Alex as he left the library and walked with him back to the ballroom. “You mustn’t make jokes about your death. It isn’t in the least bit humorous to me. How can you even imagine that it is?”
“Forgive me. I know that comment was in poor taste, but even if my attempts at humor fail to cheer you, they do serve to keep me in good spirits.” Alex smiled far more frequently than his dark-eyed companion, but the subject of his own demise did not depress him. In his opinion he had lived a full life, but as he scanned the guests looking for a certain fetching blonde, he was filled with a poignant longing for time enough to replace the sorrow in her golden eyes with the warm sparkle of happiness.
“Where have you been?” Lady Lawton scolded crossly as Eden returned to her side.
Lowering her voice to a discreet whisper, Eden provided the first excuse that occurred to her. “My hair needed attention, Aunt Lydia. I feared it would come loose and went to arrange it more securely.”
Lydia’s sharp eyes quickly assessed her niece’s golden curls, and finding them neatly arranged, she gave her an approving nod. “Your appearance is perfection, but you mustn’t wander about alone. It might cause speculation that you’re meeting someone, and your reputation must remain above reproach.”
Eden turned away to hide her smile, but she thought her aunt’s fear truly ludicrous. The music ended then and her cousin, Stephanie, joined them for a few minutes. Petite and dark like her mother, she never lacked admirers, and when the musicians began the next tune, she was again invited to dance while Eden was left standing by her aunt’s side. It was one thing to know why she was seldom asked to dance, but quite another to smile bravely as though she did not care when she had once been the most popular girl in Richmond.
When she saw Alex across the room, Eden quickly directed Lydia’s attention to him. “I can’t recall the name of that silver-haired gentleman. Do you know him?” She had not realized she still held his handkerchief until she had left the library, and not wanting to return and intrude upon Alex and his nephew, she had quickly slid the damp square of fine linen down her bodice. She could feel it now, touching her left breast in a shameful reminder of how foolish she had been to speak her mind so freely.
Always well mannered, Lydia nodded, but did not reply until none of the dancing couples was near enough to overhear her words. “He is Alexander Sutton, Earl of Clairbourne, my dear. He’s a widower who spends most of his time in the West Indies. In fact, I can’t recall when he was last in London. It’s been several years since I’ve spoken with him although his late wife was at one time a dear friend.”
“Lord Clairbourne,” Eden whispered softly so she would not forget the name but her heart fell at the realization Alex was not someone she would be likely to meet again. When he and his nephew began making their way toward them, Eden felt the heat of a bright blush fill her cheeks but it was her aunt Alex invited to dance, not her.
While he had reluctantly agreed to seek a wife, Raven found himself hating every minute of the search. He felt on that night as he had all the others: like a prize stallion on display before an auction, and he was eager to leave. When his uncle invited Lydia Lawton to dance, he had no choice but to escort her niece out onto the floor; however, he made no attempt to make the experience enjoyable for either of them.
Eden searched her mind for something amusing to say, then recalling Raven had apparently found his other partners’ conversation wanting, she gave up the effort and remained silent. He was so tall the top of her head barely reached his shoulder so she knew it would have been difficult for them to converse even if she had been able to think of something witty to say. She winced as he stepped on her toe, and only nodded in reply to his mumbled apology.
As Alex and her aunt moved into view, Eden saw them laughing together and wished she and Lydia could trade places, for Alex was clearly an accomplished dancer while his nephew moved like a lumbering ox. She greeted the end of the number with a sigh of relief, and when she looked up at Raven, she wasn’t surprised to find he appeared equally grateful. When he thanked her, neither his deep voice nor his dark eyes held the slightest hint of warmth, and she thought it a great pity he possessed none of his uncle’s remarkable charm.
When Alex Sutton failed to invite her to dance, Eden was more disappointed than she had thought possible. He smiled at her after he had escorted her aunt to the edge of the dance floor, again brushed her hand with a light kiss, but he had then excused himself. Still thinking him quite the most interesting man she had met in a long while, Eden watched him call greetings to others as he walked away. He was obviously a friendly fellow and apparently popular but his nephew looked every bit as uncomfortable as she felt as he trailed along behind him.
“Well, what do you think of him?” Lydia asked excitedly.
“Think of whom?” Eden responded with forced calm, silently praying that despite his earlier lack of discretion, Alex had not revealed how they had met.
“Raven Blade, of course, who else?” Lydia shook her head impatiently. “Lord Clairbourne is childless, so his nephew is his heir. He was raised on Jamaica and his manners are not what they should be, unfortunately, but he will be enormously rich when he inherits his uncle’s wealth.”
“That can’t possibly be soon enough to make marriage to that brooding oaf worthwhile,” Eden mused aloud.
“Hush!” Lady Lawton hissed sharply. “Lord Clairbourne has asked to speak with me privately tomorrow afternoon. I think he may want to suggest a match between Stephanie and Raven. While I shall promise to do no more than consider it, I’ll admit the prospect is a tremendously exciting one.”
“Does Stephanie even know who Raven is? I’ve never heard her mention his name.”
Lydia favored her niece with a triumphant smile. “If she doesn’t know who he is tonight, I can assure you she most definitely will by tomorrow.”
The follow
ing afternoon, Eden and her cousin strolled about the well-tended garden of the Lawton townhouse while Lord Clairbourne met with her aunt. Stephanie had indeed known who Raven Blade was but Eden found her cousin’s enthusiastic praise for him difficult to understand. She tried to keep in mind the difference between their prospects for making a good marriage, but even that bias failed to change her view of him. He was remarkably handsome, she could not deny that, but his manner was too forbidding for her to focus on his appearance as Stephanie so easily did. She simply did not like the dark-eyed young man and she did not understand how her cousin could admire someone so lacking in warmth.
Stephanie paused to savor the aroma of a deep, red rose before continuing her steady stream of complimentary remarks. “I think Raven is quite dashing. That he’s so dark gives him an air of mystery, don’t you agree? He might be capable of almost anything, from the grandest heroics to the vilest treachery. Who can say?”
“Who indeed?” Eden agreed. “Have you ever danced with him?”
